Levellers - Bethnal Green Pleasure Unit, London, 11/11/2006
by Sarah Maybank
published: 22 / 11 / 2006

intro
New Pennyblackmusic writer Sarah Maybank watches Welsh pop art punks the Loves play a vibrant and exciting set at Bethnal Green Pleasure Unit in London
Hey, hey we’re… the Horrors? What madness is this? Seven Cardiff tykes attired like the novelty Goths, swaggering like a Bronx street gang and rocking like the Monkees spraying you with sherbert-loaded AK47s ? Welcome to the Loves. Playing a Halloween bash so belated you can smell carol singers roasting on a chestnut fire outside, the Cardiff sevensome alchemise their cutie pop into a Viking invasion cacophony when unleashed live. On the stroke of one heavy metal intro chord, they screech off in a fuzzbox-fuelled blur of shalalas, singer/svengali Simon Love and guitar henchman Rhys sawing away, heads down, as the rest sparkle behind like the tail of a comet. Like a teen mag problem page they're obsessed with girls and boys, falling in love, falling out, and falling apart, and in their 20 minutes on stage they switchback through a deranged rollercoaster of a set stuffed with enough bababas and ramalamas to fuel the BBC's children’s output for a year. The Loves shamelessly snatch guitar pop out of the sixth form common room, ram it against the wall at the fifth years' disco and snog its face off. Leaving clever Franz Ferdinand and anguished Bloc Party behind to polish their thesauruses, they fire out love letter after love letter to every 60's girlband ever via the Ramones and the Rough Guide to Cool Rock ‘n’ Roll Fringes. In a parallel universe having melodies so sweet that the Hansel and Gretel house is threatening to sue is earning a parallel Loves their umpteenth Brit award. But here and now, being as adorable – but also as original -as a Beatles wig isn’t setting the world alight. The melody/noise/speed thing sabre-toothed C86ers like the Shop Assistants and the Primitives were spitting out 20 years ago. So with vicious/cute being co-opted by everyone from Bratz dolls to the Sugababes nowadays is there really any point to the Loves? Yes,sir - as long as addictively whistle-able tunes are keeping chart-meisters like Guy Chambers and Cathy Dennis in diamond studded mansions. Simon Love has Madonna sized ambitions, and wants to blow up his former school and, Saddam-style, replace it with a statue of himself. If you want to keep him out of the hands of The Man, love the Loves and start buying their records. The photographs that accompany this article were taken by Bob Stuart and originally appeared on his website www.underexposed.org.uk
Band Links:-
https://www.facebook.com/levellersofficialhttp://www.levellers.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Levellers
https://twitter.com/the_levellers
Picture Gallery:-


interviews |
Interview (2008) |
Lightspeed Champion's debut album, 'Falling Off the Lavender Bridge', has been one of the most acclaimed albums of the years and has won almost universal praise, but frontman Dev Hynes explains to Sarah Maybank why he doesn't think it is that good |
Interview (2008) |
profiles |
(DVD) A Curious Life (2015) |
![]() |
Harry Sherriff finds new Levellers documentary 'A Curious Life' poorly structured and only of appeal to die-hard fans |
Chaos Theory (2006) |
live reviews |
Opera House, Buxton, 5/3/2015 |
![]() |
Nicky Crewe enjoys an unusual evening from the Levellers at the Buxton Opera House in London at which they show their new documentary 'A Curious Life' and then follow this with an acoustic set |
Picturehouse, Holmfirth, 28/4/2010 |
Academy, Leeds, 12/12/2008 |
Apollo, Manchester, 5/3/2008 |
features |
Levellers (2008) |
![]() |
Pennyblackmusic has two signed promo copies of the Levellers new double A sided single, 'A Life Less Ordinary'/'The Cholera', and one copy of their recent double live DVD, 'Chaos Theory' to give away. To hopefully win a prize, answer three questions |
reviews |
Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2009) |
![]() |
Excellent live album from folk punks the Levellers, which recorded in the Royal Albert Hall in London, highlights their enduring appeal |
Letters from the Underground (2008) |
A Life Less Ordinary (2008) |
Truth And Lies (2005) |
most viewed articles
current edition
Pennyblackmusic - Writers and Photographers' Albums of the Year 2024Pennyblackmusic - Book of the Year Award 2024
Man From Delmonte - Interview
Clive Langer - Interview
Johnnie Johnstone - Interview
Peter Perrett - In Dreams Begin Responsibilities Interview Part One
Marianne Faithfull - Reflections
Laura Nyro - Profile
Vinyl Stories - Vinyl 2024
Johny Brown - Corpse Flower
previous editions
Heavenly - P.U.N.K. Girl EPMarianne Faithfull - Interview
Michael Stuart Ware - Pegasus Epitaph: The Story of the Legendary Rock Group Love
Trudie Myerscough-Harris - Interview
Marianne Faithfull - Interview
Joy Division - The Image That Made Me Weep
Dwina Gibb - Interview
Beautiful South - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Jimmy Nail - Interview
Peter Perrett - In Dreams Begin Responsibilities Interview Part Two
most viewed reviews
current edition
Ringo Starr - Look UpDorie Jackson - Stupid Says Run
Pixie Lott - Encino
Dusty Springfield - The BBC Sessions
Beabadoobee - This is How The World Moves
Unthanks - In Winter
Joan Armatrading - How Did This Happen and What Does It Mean?
Emily Burns - Die Happy
Rosie Lowe - Lover, Other
Oïmiakon - Comptoir Des Vanites
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart